Blog Archives
Stuck
Stuck –
Today I was stuck somewhere I didn’t want to be, doing something I didn’t want to do for over 6-hours! A quarter of my day was spent enduring, trying to stay calm, doing much breathing exercises and practicing stillness.
This wasn’t my plan for this day. I had it all laid out and then boom! From out of nowhere, life took a hard turn and I had no choice but to follow. There are moments and seasons in life when you’re given one of two or more choices. This wasn’t available to me today. I walked a 6-hour path of misery, by sitting in an uncomfortable room and an uncomfortable chair, and thankfully came out on the other side.
Life is nothing if not unpredictable. Especially when you have everything scheduled and coordinated. It’s interesting how life’s “surprises” continue to shock. Perhaps one day they won’t surprise us anymore. Maybe we’ll learn the lesson of living in the moment, no expectations and accept everything that comes with an open hand and spirit.
blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com
Stuck
Stuck –
This morning I listened to a man tell a story about a time he and his wife went hiking during the fall in a National Park. He described the scenery and that he and his wife were so absorbed in the beauty they didn’t realize how late it had become. They hurried back to the car, trying to be in the vehicle before dark. They made it and then pulled out of the deserted parking lot. Unfortunately, they were met a large yellow chain hooked on two polls each side of the entrance/exit. They weren’t sure what to do. There wasn’t enough room to drive on either side of the polls and they didn’t want to be there all night. As they sat in their car wondering who to call the wife asked a simple question; “Is there a lock? I don’t see a lock on the chain or polls.” The husband got out of the car, walked up to the chain unhooked it and went back to the car smiling at his wife’s genius. They drove through the exit and then put the chain back in place.
The man followed up his story with a reflection on how often we think we’re stuck, there’s no way out, a hopeless situation. He said that once we decide we can’t go, get or keep moving, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I reflected on the man’s reflection and began thinking about times in my life where I thought I couldn’t go any further but by the grace of God, the kindness of loved ones and friends I was shown a way and was able to get unstuck and keep traveling the road of life. I’m thankful today for those who are smarter than me, see different from me, think in ways I don’t and can show me the way when I can’t see how to keep going.
blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com
A Better Door
This morning I was heading outside to retrieve the dogs from their morning ritual.
The back storm door, from which I exited, has a hook attached in such a way that sometimes instead of falling down when it’s taken out of the eye bolt, it gets stuck in the upright position.
Apparently, this is what happened this morning and when the door shut behind me the hook fell at just the right angle to lock itself back. When we returned I tried to open it, several times in several ways, with no luck. The pooches and I we’re stuck. Finally, I decided to rap on the bedroom window where my wife was still sleeping. Graciously, she let me in through the front door and didn’t even ask for an explanation. (Things like this happen to me regularly and getting back in bed was more important to her than my story.)
As I shook my head, thinking; “What are the odds?” I also reflected on other times in my life when doors have been shut, locked and no matter what I tried couldn’t be opened. Places I wanted to go, positions I longed to occupy, higher levels I sought to attain but the doors to many of these were closed with no way in and I had to make a choice…
Do I figure out how to force them open or seek help to find another door, a better door which another had graciously opened?
blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
http://www.thewannabesaint.com
Going in Circles
Wednesday morning I needed to go to Nashville for a fatherhood regional meeting. I left early to beat the heavy traffic that’s notorious when you’re trying to get into the city. My GPS of choice is Waze. I like the look of it, the ability to alert other drivers of traffic, accidents, construction and be warned if you’re approaching hazards or other difficulties.
With the address plugged in I set out for my destination. Everything was going smoothly and as I approached an area known for a lot of stop and go, standstill traffic, Waze suddenly changed my route. I wasn’t sure what was happening but chose to follow its directions. It exited me off the interstate to another highway then another exit to the right and another right, straight for a few more miles and then another right which brought me back to the same interstate I was on 5 minutes before just a mile or so ahead of my previous spot. It didn’t save me any time or significantly advance my position, it just added anxiety to my journey.
The rest of the trip was event free and as my truck rolled down the road I reflected on our inclination to take short cuts, try to get ahead, around, bypass obstacles on the road of life. If we could we’d skip the painful places, the stressful situations, the locations on the path of life that bring unwanted obstructions, forces us to stop and perhaps wonder if we’ll ever get moving again.
The problem is we can’t steer clear of the unpleasant, traumatic, heartbreaking places of life. We might be able to evade them for a while but sooner or later we must traverse, experience, deal with these or risk being stuck mentally, emotionally and spiritually for a lifetime.
Getting where we need to go often times means going places we’d rather avoid.
blessings,
@brianloging (Twitter)
http://www.thewannabesaint.com
Stunned, Stuck and Stranded on the Road Less Traveled
On my return trip today from giving a lecture on fathers and families at a university about an hour from home I noticed traffic backed up on the exit I needed to take. To avoid being stuck I bypassed it and decided to take another route through scenic Thompsons Station, Tennessee.
Rounding a back country road I noticed a sign that indicated a low bridge. My mind was elsewhere as I came upon the bridge and a box truck that didn’t quite have the clearance it needed to pass under. I quickly applied the brakes and cautiously made my way around two-thirds of the vehicle sticking out from one side of the bridge. On the other side of the small, height challenged overpass was a stunned driver standing in front of the crumpled and very stuck other third of the truck talking on a cellphone with a look of; “what happened?!?!” all over his face.
I thought about the road I had not taken to avoid being stuck and the gentleman who either missed the sign of misjudged the stature of the delivery truck. Either way his day got a lot longer.
Life. Sometimes the road we choose to travel lets us avoid troubles and stress. Other times it leaves us stunned, stranded and stuck.
blessings,
@BrianLoging
http://www.thewannabesaint.com